Voltron Rewind
by Smokey-Wisp
Summary: Shiro thought nothing could be as weird or impossibly crazy as being abducted by aliens. He was wrong - My take on where the Black Paladin disappeared to after the fight with Zarkon (written before Season 3)
1. Prologue - A rude awakening

Voltron Rewind

Prologue – A Rude Awakening

There was a moment of white light and a sudden jolt like you get from an unexpectedly rough plane landing. Shiro swallowed to relieve the pressure in his ears. He felt dizzy, but the sensations of his body were returning, like he was awakening after a deep sleep. More likely he'd been unconscious.

He was alive. He was in his Lion.

The Black Lion's screens showed Keith and Pidge's Lions supporting and guiding him back to the Castle. He tried to hail them on the comm link but only got static. If that was the worst damage from their battle with Zarkon, they'd got off lucky.

They'd won. Against Zarkon.

They had won, hadn't they?

Some link to his Lion told him their enemy was still out there. No matter, they'd dealt him quite a blow, and they'd strike him again, and again – as many times as necessary, until he, and his empire, were no more.

For now, they were safe. If there had been any remaining Galra, Keith would have been off dogfighting them. A wave of tiredness flooded over him and he closed his eyes, just for a moment.

Shiro was jolted awake. Black was in the hangar. He felt the Castle's artificial gravity kick in and, fighting a slight unsteadiness, he got to his feet as his Lion's jaw opened.

The Paladins stood outside in their yellow, red, blue and green armor. Coran was there too, but … When had he had time to get a haircut, and what had happened to his sleeves? Something was wrong, and Coran was just the start.

The Blue Paladin sported Altean ears. The Yellow Paladin was a woman. And the Green Paladin was literally green, with yellow hair and tattoos. Desperately Shiro turned to the Red Paladin, to Keith, who was just removing his helmet.

Silver hair with a gottee, tan skin, ice blue eyes. Shiro knew that face, although they'd never met in the flesh. Was he still dreaming?

King Alfor, Coran, and the other strange Paladins looked back at him. He wasn't what they were expecting either. He had once joked that after being abducted by aliens, he was immune to the bizarre. But this …

"Who are you?" asked Alfor, his voice unchanged from the hologram.

"I'm the Black Paladin," the others stared at him with obvious disbelief, "um… from the future?"

 _Author's notes: Thanks for reading. This is more of a teaser. The first chapter will be posted later today. I was desperate to get this out before Season 3 just in case they pulled something like this (highly unlikely, but still). Shiro is such a great character to write and I've only gotten to write from his perspective once before, so I'm really looking forward to this story. Let me know what you think._


	2. Chapter 1 - Introductions are made

Chapter 1 – Introductions are made

Alfor waited impatiently for the Black Lion to open up. Something was amiss. Zarkon had often taken his lion out for secret missions, but this was the first time the Black Lion had broadcast a retrieval signal. When they arrived at the asteroid where she'd been hidden, there was no Zarkon, not even a message.

Falla had sensed a life form within the lion, but none of their communications could get through. The Black Lion's systems were offline but otherwise she seemed undamaged, so they had to physically haul her to the Castle. Now, back in the hangar, she opened her jaws.

Out stepped the Black Paladin, or rather…

The figure had Zarkon's warrior build, but he was much too small. This not-Zarkon Paladin removed his helmet, revealing a pallid, pasty humanoid alien with nubbed ears, tiny black eyes, and a scar in the wrong place. At least he had hair, black with a splotch of white, which kept him from being completely unnerving. But there was no way that he was Zarkon, or even Galra.

The alien looked as shocked and confused as Alfor felt. His eyes kept darting about, first coming to rest on Coran, who was standing next to Alfor, then on the other Paladins, and finally settling on the Red Paladin himself.

"Who are you?" asked Alfor.

"I'm the Black Paladin," stated the creature, "um, from the future."

That statement broke their silence and everyone began talking at once.

"Where's Zarkon?" demanded Lithelia.

"Interesting claim," drawled Deogan.

"That's highly unlikely," commented R'tchkiki.

"Goodness, have ears gone out of style in the future?" said Coran, but quietly, just for Alfor's hearing. It was his way to remind Alfor to proceed with reason, not on instinct.

Alfor raised his hand and everyone went quiet.

"You expect us to believe that you're a time traveler?" It was a lot to swallow, even for someone who piloted a mechanical AI lion that transformed into a giant robot to fight an invasion of mind controlling arthropods.

The alien shrugged and gave a sheepish smile, "I admit, it sounds farfetched. But, honestly, it's the only explanation I can think of. I mean, you guys are the original Paladins, right?"

"Of course they are, everyone knows-"

Deogan cleared his throat loudly, cutting Coran off. He stroked his orange mustache and gave the alien a calculating look.

"So, you know us," his voice was breezy, "what with us being written about in the history books and all. Name us."

"Right," the alien ran his hand through his two-toned hair. "Full disclosure, I only recognize Coran and King Alfor, who is apparently the Red Paladin."

The nervous tension broke. Around him the other Paladins, including R'tckiki, broke into laughter. Lithelia slapped Alfor on the back, knocking him forward with her strength, "so, you're a king in the future? You courting some alien princess we don't know about?"

"Well, that settles it," proclaimed Coran, "he's stark raving mad. Nice job catching him out, cousin."

"If he's an imposter," said R'tchkiki in his high pitched reed-like voice, "Why was he in the Black Lion, and why did she call out for us to rescue him?"

"It's obvious she called us to apprehend him," said Coran.

"No, that's a good point," said Lithelia. She approached the Black Lion. "Black may be less temperamental than Red, but I'm sure she'd show displeasure if someone was impersonating her Paladin." She looked to R'tchkiki. The Seltevian was inscrutable, as usual.

"Coran," said Alfor, "go tell Falla to come down here. Don't tell her anything to predispose her to the situation." The uncomfortable silence settled again after he left. "How could the Black Lion bond with a second Paladin?" mused Alfor, thinking aloud, "unless something happened to …" he closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what they would do without their leader.

"The Black Paladin," it was the strange alien, speaking slowly and with hesitation, "is Zarkon?"

"Tell me," said Deogan, sounding more irate than concerned, "in the future, is there some universe-wide apocalypse that destroyed all recorded history, or were you just a really, really bad student? Because, for a time traveler, you're very underprepared." Trust the Blue Paladin to take this man's ignorance as a personal slight.

"I doubt he actually traveled through time," said R'tchkiki, "but he could be from a future timepoint of an alternative dimension."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Deogan.

"The Quintessence of space and time exerts a high level of continuity, favoring resemblances but preventing outright collapse-"

"In simple language," Deogan interrupted, "so we primitive, slow-thinking aliens can make sense of it."

"He comes from future of a dimension that is very similar to our own, but with a few differences. It may seem like he's traveled into the past, but there's no chance of him altering his own history or creating a paradox."

"Pair of ducks?" R'tchkiki's tattoos flared indicating that Deogan was getting to him.

"Oh," said the alien, "like I can't accidently kill my own grandfather and prevent my mother from being born."

"Yes, what he said," the Green Paladin pulled back his lips revealing his pointed teeth. He always claimed it was the closest he got to a smile, but it looked like a snarl.

"Then why didn't you explain it that way?" challenged Deogan.

"That still doesn't explain how he got here, or why," said Lithelia, cutting them off before they fell back into their standard bickering.

Alfor turned the alien. "Not that I'm sure we'd believe you," he said, "but perhaps you'd best tell us what you know, um …"

"Takashi Shirogane," said the alien, "but you can call me Shiro." And he smiled.

Different aliens had their own unique, body language and Alteans were trained not to project their assumptions on other cultures. But it was a nice smile. Not too toothy or pinched. Under other circumstances, Alfor might have let himself believe it to be genuine.

"And I'm Lithelia. This is Deogan. R'tchkiki. And, Alfor, who in this reality is only a duke's son." Lithelia smiled back, but then she was known for her trusting nature. "Now that we know each other's names, tell us what happened."

"I wish I could," said Shiro, "my teammates and I had formed Voltron and had just defeated … an extremely powerful foe. There was a major discharge of energy that split us apart. That's the last thing I remember. I must have lost consciousness and I don't know how I got from my Black Lion into this one. When I awoke, I was being towed by the Red and Green Lions." He raised up his hands and shrugged.

"What with your hand?" asked Deogan.

"I…" Shiro hesitated, "lost my original arm in a fight. This is an artificial replacement."

"May I?" asked R'tchkik. Shiro held out his right hand. It was the opposite of his hair, mostly white with just the fingers being black. Despite its armored look, it moved quite naturally. The Green Paladin touched it, tentatively at first. But then more thoroughly, pulling and twisting with no regard for it being attached to Shiro.

"Is it Seltevian tech?" asked Alfor. It didn't seem their style, but who else could make such a wonder.

R'tchkiki was not the type to be hurried. After a moment he stepped back, a dissatisfied look on his face, "it has elements of both Seltevian and Galra technology but it's something all its own. Something I've never seen before."

Before Alfor could press him, or Deogan could disparage him, they were interrupted by the swishing of silks of Princess Falla. Alfor had been looking at Shiro and was pleased to see the man's eyes go wide. Falla had that effect on people. Her golden hair and brilliant green eyes contrasted strikingly with her ebony skin. But it was her regal bearing, and the graceful way she moved, that halted conversations whenever she entered a room.

"Princess-" began Lithelia, but Alfor stopped her. They needed this to be objective.

"Princess Falla," he said, "can you use your connection to the Quintessence of the lions and castle to tell us who this is?"

Falla graced Alfor with a smile before she nodded and closed her eyes. She tilted her face upward and Alfor swore he could feel an increase in the room's energy. Falla's smile faltered. "He is the Black Paladin, accepted by the Black Lion, and –" Falla let out a gasp and stumbled. Instantly, Alfor was at her side, supporting her.

"Falla," cried Lithelia, she rushed to the Princess's other side.

"He is from another time, another space," said Falla, her voice wavering, "there's chaos in his mind."

Alfor looked to Shiro, curious about how he'd take this pronouncement. "Is she okay?" he asked seeming less concerned with this criticism of his mental state and more about the condition of the Princess.

"I shall be fine," said Falla, pulling away from Alfor and approaching Shiro, "I am Falla."

"Shiro." He raised up his organic hand.

Falla regarded it.

"Sorry," Shiro gave another of those disarming smiles, "it's an Earth custom-" but before he could elaborate, Coran's voice came through the intercom.

"Hope I'm not interrupting any major revelation, but I've got a distress signal from a Gortkellog transport vessel. They're being attacked by a Boshido battalion, mostly Rutuskin fighters, and are requesting assistance, urgently."

"Is that Captain Halastad's ship?" asked Lithelia.

"Why yes, how did you know?" said Coran.

"Norali Halastad was entrusted with the transport of a cache of Balmera crystals to the Pollux shipyards. We cannot let them fall into Boshido's procession."

"Three of us can handle Rutuskin fighters," said Deogan.

"Only three?" questioned R'tchkiki, "why not all of us with the Castle providing backup?"

"Because we still have the complication of our mysterious Black Paladin."

"We could lock him up," said R'tchkiki.

Alfor caught Deogan eyeing Shiro's artificial hand. It was more than just a prosthetic. Who knew what it, and by extension, Shiro was capable of. Still, he had a nice smile.

"You haven't given us reason to distrust you, Shiro," Alfor said, "However-"

"I'd do the same in your position," Shiro responded, "do what you feel is best for your crew." Alfor gave Shiro a grateful nod, if only Deogan were more deferential.

"Okay, team," said Alfor, "here's the plan. Deogan, Lithelia, R'tchkiki get to your Lions and the Princess will summon a wormhole to get you to Halastad. I'll accompany Shiro to the bridge. We'll wait for your return to question him further. Perhaps by that time Zarkon will have contacted us."

"That sounds reasonable," said Lithelia. The other Paladins didn't object.

As Falla led Shiro away, Deogan grabbed Alfor's arm.

"Keep your eyes and ears on him, Alfor," he pitched his voice low, "He's way too agreeable to be trusted."

"You think he's acting?" said Alfor quietly, "Then why so many holes in his story? If he's pretending to be a time traveler, why mistake me for a king, or not recognize the rest of you?"

"Playing dumb is easier than playing smart," said Deogan. "Claiming amnesia or whatever means you don't trip yourself up."

"Is that what you'd do?" asked Alfor.

"Do?" said Deogon, turning away, "That's what I've done, kid."

The benefit of Deogan's previous line of work was he could claim whatever acts of bravery or deceit he wanted, and there was no way to call him on it. That Deogan probably had faked amnesia on some high-stakes undercover ops assignment didn't make the goading any more tolerable.

* * *

The Castle was exactly as it ought to be, observed Shiro as he walked between Allura's mother and father who were apparently just professional colleagues in this reality. He'd been reluctant to leave the Black Lion, she was the only one who didn't think he was lying or crazy. He could still feel her and it was a comfort to know that she'd get him out of here if he needed her.

They were making their way to the bridge, Shiro knew the route. What was odd was the number of uniformed crew they passed along the way. Most were Galra with Alteans a close second, but there were a scattering of other aliens, none he could name. All of them regarded him with questioning looks, but no one seemed comfortable asking either Alfor or Falla about him. Strongly hierarchal chain of command, he noted while he kept count of how many crew there were and the different uniform markings.

"You're being an awfully agreeable prisoner," said Alfor, "We appreciate that."

"You're being very hospitable captors," Shiro responded.

This had to be a dream, or one of Haggar's illusions. It couldn't be really happening.

Just. Wake. Up.

That magical thinking hadn't worked when he'd been abducted by the Galra and he doubted it would work now. At least there was no Zarkon, yet.

The bridge door slid open and everyone stood at attention as Alfor entered. Everyone but twenty-something Coran who popped into Shiro's personal space and seemed to be taking his measurements.

"So," he turned to Falla, "is he who he says he is?"

"Yes, at least according to the Black Lion," said Falla, "I don't think she has a reason to deceive us." Shiro tried not to stare at her. She looked so much like Allura, albeit in a different color scheme.

"Lost that bet, then. Pity, I was on a winning streak."

"You, on a winning streak?" Alfor scoffed.

"I'll have you know I bet Yarzok that the wrecked life support cables were not, as he claimed, damaged during our last battle," said Coran. "He was wrong to be such a pessimist. We have a space mice infestation! Found them in my sock drawer."

"Mice?" Falla's voice was an octave higher and started scanning the floor.

"Oh, they're the cutest things, Princess," Coran assured her, "and clever too."

"Well, if you're planning on keeping them as pets, better keep them away from the Galra," said Alfor, "I believe they consider them a delicacy."

The two men laughed while Falla shook her head. It was like the Wizard of Oz where the actors were double cast but with the same personalities. If felt odd, but at least Shiro knew what to expect from them.

The other Paladins were still mostly black boxes. Somehow, he needed to win their trust so they could help get him home before Zarkon showed up. Maybe in this reality he really was a good guy, or hadn't gone bad yet. But Shiro doubted it.

"We're ready to launch, Alfor," Deogan, the Blue Paladin, popped up on a projection screen.

He was going to be the biggest challenge. Coran had called him cousin and the resemblance was undeniable - same complexion, same hair and eye color, probably same nose before it had been broken. It had healed well, just a small asymmetry that along with the thin mustache gave him a rakish Errol Flynn look.

There were aspects he shared with Lance. He had a sly humor and, despite playing the fool, he was very aware of the social situation around him. But he'd obviously had a great deal more life experience, and it had cultivated a cynical attitude in him. Keith wouldn't have stood a chance against the guy's barbs. Lucky for this Red Paladin, Deogan's favorite target seemed to be the Green Paladin.

"Sending the final coordinates and system information to your Lions," said Coran.

"That system has a great deal of red shift interference," said R'chekey – Rick key- Shiro couldn't even mentally pronounce the guy's name. "Direct communication will probably be impaired."

Shiro's mental shortcut for new aliens was to associate them with their closest sci-fi movie approximation. By that logic, the Green Paladin looked like a cool, punk reboot of ET with better skin and some muscle mass but keeping the larger head than the neck should support, strangely off proportion and soulful eyes. Rekiki, that was as close as Shiro could get.

Shiro had heard about the Seltevians from Slav. He'd actually complimented their technology and science before lamenting that they'd vanished and taken most of their secrets with them. If there was someone who might figure out how Shiro had gotten here, and how to get him home, it would be Rekiki.

He was a scientist. In Shiro's experience that meant he'd care less about Shiro's intentions and more the challenge of understanding his appearance. He was obviously intrigued by Shiro's Galra arm. When he came around to examine it again, Shiro would need to drop enough details about his situation to engage Rekiki's curiosity.

"We'll call you when we're done," said Deogan, confidence dripping off his words.

"If you run into problems, I'll sense your lion's state and we'll fly in as reinforcements," said Falla.

"Thanks, Princess," the Yellow Paladin's face appeared as Falla performed the familiar gestures and the blue wormhole appeared. "You take care of yourselves as well." The three faces blinked out as the Lions vanished through the gate but it was Lithelia whose face was impressed on Shiro's mind.

While she was obviously Altean, with the ears, tanned skin and silvery hair of that race, she was broader in her shoulders and hips. This more muscular build gave her a bit of a Hunk vibe. Personality-wise too.

She had a big heart. He replayed the things she'd said. Shiro would bet money that she believed his story and, if he asked, would help to get him home. But she also was concerned about Zarkon's whereabouts. She and Alfor.

Shiro was going to have to be careful about what he revealed about the home he was so eager to get back to, but not for the usual time travel continuity reasons. If Falla and the Paladins found out he and Zarkon were mortal enemies, they'd side with their leader for sure.

There were so many ways he could be found out. Deogan was just itching to catch Shiro in some inconsistency. Rekiki might dig something out of his arm, or Fala from her connection to the Black Lion. Heck, he might forget himself around Coran and accidently let something slip. This was not going to be easy.

"So, did we win?" Alfor's question snapped Shiro out of his thoughts.

He replayed the words. These Paladins weren't at war with the Galra yet. "Who are you fighting?" Shiro asked cautiously.

The Alteans looked at him like he was mentally incapacitated.

"The Apocrypteans," said Alfor.

"A hive mind infestation that has consumed and corrupted countless planets," added Coran.

"They're responsible for the genocide of entire races and now that they've infiltrated the government and military of the Boshido Unified Planets, they've commandeered their fleet and are actively waging war on both the Galra Empire and the Altean Alliance." Falla clarified.

"Well," That didn't sound good. "they're not around in my future, so you guys must have defeated them. Or," another explanation occurred to him, "maybe that's a difference between our two realities."

"But if there were no Apocrypteans in your dimension," said Falla, "there would be no reason for the races of the universe to pool their resources to create Voltron."

"How far in the future did you say you came from?" asked Alfor.

"Ten thousand years." Shiro admitted sheepishly, "and my planet just recently made it into space. There's a lot of history we're still catching up on."

"And Voltron's still around and kicking?" said Coran. "That's impressive. Unless," he frowned with disapproval, "it was junked in some space garbage heap where you and a bunch of your plucky little friends happened to find it and, through some cosmically impossible bit of McGuffinery, just happened to get the Lions up and running so you can all go on a merry little space adventure?"

Shiro was saved from an answer by clanging bells and strobing warning lights.

"What is it?" asked Alfor.

Coran had turned back to his station, "A squadron of Galra fighters has just appeared." The massive ceiling display showed a gray wormhole and a large number of ships.

"What are they doing out here?" said Falla, running back to her station.

"Not sure, I'm patching through their transmission."

Shiro braced himself for the worst. Zarkon demanding they turn him over. But instead it was just a generic Galra general with a massive, softball-sized, white goiter on his neck. The protuberance was so large, it tilted his head at an unnatural angle.

"Greetings Paladins of Voltron," the Galra's voice was flat, and he had none of the usual intense Galra expression. "Surrender to the Apocryptean Infestation."

And the sky behind the transmission screen erupted in white.

"All hands brace for impact," Falla shouted, "We're under attack!"

 _Notes: So, now I've got my versions of the original Paladins fleshed out prior to whatever comes in season 3. This story will have more chapters once I'm done with "Learning Curve", hopefully in September. Thanks for reading._


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